Professor Publishes Biography of Pro Wrestler, Cultural Icon

The name Gorgeous George is not one that tends to ring familiar these
days. Yet, it is the name of a man whose impact on American culture is
seen throughout modern arts, athletics and elsewhere.

That is
what intrigued John Capouya, assistant professor of journalism and
writing, whose new book “Gorgeous George,” chronicles the life and
untimely demise of the long forgotten professional wrestler and details
his remarkable cultural influence.

George, who was renowned in
the 1940s and 50s for his flamboyance both inside and outside of the
professional wrestling ring, is credited with helping to establish
television as an entertainment medium.

“I don’t know or don’t
care anything about professional wrestling,” Capouya said. Rather, it
was George’s effect on American popular culture that intrigued Capouya
enough to write the book.

It was James Brown’s 2005 memoir that
first sparked Capouya’s interest, he said, when the legendary soul
singer credited George as the inspiration for his own performance
techniques.

Similarly, musician Bob Dylan, in his own memoirs,
referenced a childhood encounter with George as an influence on the
persona that he adopted later in life. George’s wrestling antics are
also mirrored in the life of boxer Muhammad Ali.

“There you have
three of the great performers of my lifetime saying they owed something
to this man,” Capouya said. Yet, even with the enormous impact George
had on American culture, the man himself is largely forgotten.

Capouya
worked on the book for three years. With many of the people who knew
George now deceased, the task of digging up information on the legendary
performer was an arduous one. Nevertheless, Capouya found some
surviving old-time professional wrestlers as well as fans and others to
use as sources for the book.

However, his most valuable source
of information was George’s first wife, whom Capouya successfully
tracked down after multiple sources told him the woman was deceased.
Betty Hanson wed George in a ceremony held inside a wrestling ring and
was instrumental in helping her husband craft the image of a “bad-boy”
wrestler.

“He and his wife hit on the idea to become the ultra
bad guy,” Capouya said, noting that George had previously achieved only
limited success as a “good guy” wrestler. “Without her the book wouldn’t
be nearly as interesting.”

“Gorgeous George,” published by
Harper Collins, is the second book Capouya has written. A former editor
for Newsweek, the New York Times, SmartMoney magazine, and New York
Newsday, Capouya began teaching at UT recently in order to assist with
the development of the University’s journalism program.